Anti-Rightist Campaign

A political campaign launched in China in 1957 that classified critics of Communist Party rule as rightists and subjected hundreds of thousands to persecution, dismissal, exile, or imprisonment.

Hundred Flowers Campaign: A 1956–1957 campaign that invited criticism and debate about the Chinese Communist Party and government. Its opening for criticism preceded the reversal that exposed participants to Anti-Rightist reprisals.
Chinese intellectuals: Scholars, writers, artists, and other educated professionals who shape public and cultural life in China. Intellectuals were among the principal targets, and many learned to avoid public criticism.
Mao Zedong: A Chinese Communist revolutionary and political leader who led the People's Republic of China from its founding until 1976. Mao encouraged criticism during the Hundred Flowers period and then endorsed the anti-rightist turn.
Political repression: The use of state power to restrict political activity, expression, or opposition. The campaign was a large-scale instance of repression directed through ideological accusations.
Rectification Campaign: A political campaign to correct perceived errors and enforce ideological discipline within a party or institution. The campaign framed dissent as a problem of ideological rectification.
Chinese literature: Literary works written in Chinese across the historical periods and regions of Chinese-speaking communities. Purges and censorship narrowed the subjects writers could safely address.
Chinese Communist Party: The ruling political party of the People's Republic of China, founded in 1921. Party authorities organized the campaign and defined its ideological boundaries.
Freedom of speech in China: The legal and practical scope for expressing opinions publicly in China. The campaign's punishments sharply demonstrated the risks of criticizing the party.
Rightist (China): A political label applied in the People's Republic of China to people accused of opposing socialism or Communist Party rule. This designation determined who could be targeted and punished.
Great Leap Forward: A 1958–1962 campaign to rapidly industrialize China and collectivize agriculture, associated with famine and mass death. The silencing of critics weakened warnings during the policies that followed.

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